This invention relates generally to photo albums of the flip or book type, and more particularly to an album in which the photos are directly adhered to the mounts of the album to assume a step or stack formation.
In order to protectively store photographic prints in an orderly sequence, it is conventional to make use of so-called flip-type photo albums in which the prints are inserted within hinged jackets arranged in two parallel rows, the jackets in each row being progressively stepped. The two rows of hinged jackets are mounted on the inner surfaces of the front and back covers of the album.
In one known form of flip album, each jacket is constituted by a transparent plastic sleeve whose upper margin is hinged by a strip of tape to a baseboard, the sleeve being divided by a partition card into front and rear compartments for receiving a pair of photo prints in back-to-back relation, such that the front photo in a selected hinged jacket in the stepped row can be seen by raising the jackets which overlap the selected jacket and the rear photo in the same jacket can be seen by flipping over the jacket.
A flip album of this type is relatively costly to fabricate, for it not only involves the production of album covers and jackets, but also requires base boards onto which the sleeves may be hinged by tape at offset positions, the boards thereafter being bonded to the covers. Though the transparent plastic jackets serve to protect the surfaces of the photos inserted therein from scratches and smudges, their inherently glossy finish makes it difficult in some instances to see the prints clearly.
In recent years, Polaroid, Eastman Kodak and other large companies have been marketing cameras which produce "instant" positive photos, rather than negative film that requires development and printing. Such finished photos are discharged from the camera in a protective paper mat which frames the picture film and includes a narrow upper margin and a relatively broad lower margin onto which one may apply identifying data. The surface of these instant pictures is such that it is resistant to scratching or smudging and therefore does not require a protective sleeve. Yet with flip albums of the type heretofore available, it is still necessary to insert these instant pictures in transparent jackets, which to a degree cloud the picture.
It is also known to provide albums in book filler form, the album being constituted by a stack of transparent jackets which are held together in a loose-leaf binder. The instant photos in this instance are inserted in the front and rear compartments of the jackets and are viewable as book pages. Here, too, the use of transparent jackets is a drawback, for the jackets interfere with the clarity of the photos and also add to the thickness of the book.